What NASA’s Discovery of a Potentially Habitable Exoplanet Means for Space Exploration

Image Credit: News18

NASA has unveiled the discovery of a potentially habitable exoplanet, Gliese 12 b, located 40 light years away from Earth. This “super-Earth exoplanet” is similar in size to our planet, possibly slightly smaller, and orbits its star every 12.8 days. This exciting finding could have significant implications for our understanding of the universe and the potential for life beyond our solar system.

The discovery of Gliese 12 b was announced in a NASA news release, highlighting it as the nearest transiting temperate Earth-size world found to date. Masayuki Kuzuhara, a project assistant professor at the Astrobiology Center in Tokyo, stated, “Although we don’t yet know whether it possesses an atmosphere, we’ve been thinking of it as an exo-Venus, with similar size and energy received from its star as our planetary neighbor in the solar system.”

The exoplanet orbits a cool red dwarf star named Gliese 12. This star is significantly smaller than our sun, about 27% of its size, and has a surface temperature that is roughly 60% of the sun’s. Despite its proximity to its star—only 7% of the distance between Earth and the sun—Gliese 12 b receives 1.6 times more energy from its star than Earth does from the sun. NASA astronomers estimate that assuming no atmosphere, the planet’s surface temperature could be around 107 degrees Fahrenheit.

Red dwarf stars, such as Gliese 12, are crucial in the search for Earth-size planets. Their small sizes and masses make the detection of orbiting planets easier. “A smaller star means greater dimming for each transit, and a lower mass means an orbiting planet can produce a greater wobble, known as ‘reflex motion,’ of the star,” NASA explained. These characteristics enhance the ability to detect smaller planets.

Moreover, the lower luminosities of red dwarf stars simplify the determination of whether the planets in their orbit could have liquid water and be potentially habitable. The discovery of Gliese 12 b thus represents a significant breakthrough in our search for life-supporting planets beyond our solar system.

Gliese 12 b’s proximity and characteristics make it an excellent target for studying whether Earth-size planets around cool stars can retain their atmospheres. Shishir Dholakia, a doctoral student at the Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, remarked, “Gliese 12 b represents one of the best targets to study whether Earth-size planets orbiting cool stars can retain their atmospheres, a crucial step to advance our understanding of habitability on planets across our galaxy.”

Researchers are keen to explore Gliese 12 b and similar planets further, as they hold the potential to unlock critical insights into our solar system’s evolution and the broader cosmos. Michael McElwain, a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasized the need for more examples like Gliese 12 b to deepen our understanding of planetary atmospheres and evolutionary outcomes. “To better understand the diversity of atmospheres and evolutionary outcomes for these planets, we need more examples like Gliese 12 b,” McElwain noted.

The ongoing study of exoplanets like Gliese 12 b is fundamental to advancing our knowledge of space and the potential for life on other planets. As NASA and other space organizations continue to explore these celestial bodies, each discovery brings us closer to answering the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe.

The discovery of Gliese 12 b not only represents a significant milestone in space exploration but also highlights the importance of continuous advancements in technology and research. With each new exoplanet found, we gain invaluable information that could one day lead to groundbreaking discoveries about life beyond Earth.

This story was originally featured on USA Today